TRACING THE MEMORY MECHANISMS IN THE SONG ACQUISITION OF NIGHTINGALES

The song acquisition system of oscines shows adaptive specialization f or selective, high capacity and long-term storage of signal patterns t o which a bird normally is exposed early in life. This report reviews studies designed to examine the mechanisms involved in memory formatio n and storage of songs. The experiments were conducted on nightingales (Lascinia megarhynchos), a species renowned for its vocal 'virtuosity ' and the development of large song-type repertoires by precise imitat ion of heard song models. In the analyses the relationships between va riables of exposure to learning stimuli and variables of singing perfo rmances were examined on different hierarchy levels of performance org anization. Particular focus was on the characteristics of reproduction of order information encoded in a series of song models presented in a play-back design. The results allowed to distinguish between an expo sure-related and a self-induced memory organization. The characteristi cs of the latter, in particular, proposed a series of experiments set out to examine the mechanisms mediating the acquisition and storage of information.